The Limit by Kristen Landon Page A

elevator doors slid open.
    Ugly, gray cement walls—without a single window—stretched in front of me as far as I could see. My prison cell. I shuffled away from the door until I bumped into the back of the elevator. Honey Lady had already disappeared into the hallway and around a gray corner. The only thing worse than walking into that dark top floor was being left here alone.
    The instant the last part of my body cleared the elevator door, it swooshed closed behind me. It must’ve been weight or motion sensitive. If I hadn’t been in such a panic I would’ve stopped to get a better look at the cool tech.
    I sprinted around the corner into another dim hall. I didn’t even look; I just ran. Two seconds later, bam, I found her.
    “Oh, there you are,” she said, smiling sweetly down at me. “Ready for the top floor?”
    Without waiting for an answer, she pushed throughthe heavy swinging metal door that stood at the end of the hall.
    I had to squint. Nobody told me I’d need sunglasses up here. The room was so full of light I thought for a second we’d gone too far and ended up on the roof. My eyes adjusted quickly and allowed me to begin processing all the sights and sounds of the top floor. We stood in a huge room with a high ceiling covered with skylights. A double row of cubicles ran down the middle of it. The cubicles were covered with typical blue-gray fabric, except the closest one. It was completely enclosed and made out of glass panels. What’s the point of having a cubicle made of glass if you’re going to cover the walls with blinds? And close them all?
    “Work is over for the day,” said Honey Lady. “The other kids are eating or playing somewhere. Except . . .” She paused at the glass cube and knocked on the sliding door. “Reginald?” Honey Lady called. “You in there?”
    A deep voice answered back. “Yes, ma’am.”
    “I thought so,” said Honey Lady. Lowering her voice she said, “Reginald loves his computer. He loves his privacy, too. That’s why he has the special setup. Respect his wishes and give him his space.”
    I followed her as she proceeded down the row of cubicles. They were big. I’d seen Brennan’s dad’s cubicle once, and it was probably half the size of one of these.
    “Boys on this side, girls on the other.” Honey Lady pointed briefly as she power-walked toward the other side of the top floor. She seemed to be in a big hurry all of a sudden. “Now, if I can just find some of our other Top Floors to drop you off with, we’ll be all set.” Pausing in front of a glass door with a metal bar across the middle, she turned to me, her all-business face morphing into the super-sweet, sugar-coated one. “I just know you’re going to love this room.” She reached a long-nailed finger out to poke me in the shoulder—attempting playfulness, I guess. “It’s a favorite with our Top Floors.”
    As she pushed through the door—and pulled me after her—a soft wave of warm wet air wrapped around us. No way. A swimming pool? Inside a building? On the top floor? The pool had a diving board and a big slide that curved a couple of times on the way down. A raised hot tub sat in the far corner, spilling a waterfall into the pool. This was beyond amazing. The entire ceiling and the outside wall were pure windows. Even though the sun was starting to set, the room sparkled with light. There were even girls here, wearing bathing suits! Wait until I told the guys back home about this. They’d all beg their parents to go over their limits.
    “Miss Smoot. Hi, Miss Smoot!” Three girls who looked close to my age climbed out of the pool and ran over to Honey Lady.
    “Hello, girls,” said Honey Lady. “This is Matt. He just made top floor today. Madeline, Paige, and Neela.” She pointed to each girl. Madeline crinkled her nose—nothing different here than at my school, where the girls snubbed me. Paige smiled a little and waved, though. The last girl, Neela, nodded her head, like